FOOTNOTES:
[1] Liber Vagatorum: Der Betler Orden: First printed about 1514. Its first section gives a special account of the several orders of the 'Fraternity of Vagabonds;' the 2nd, sundry notabilia relating to them; the 3rd consists of a 'Rotwelsche Vocabulary,' or 'Canting Dictionary.' See a long notice in the Wiemarisches Jahrbuch, vol. 10; 1856. Hotten's Slang Dictionary: Bibliography.
[2] See the back of his title-page, p. [2], below.
[3] as well and and as well not in the title of the 1575 edition.
[4] Compare the anecdote, p. [66], [68], 'the last sommer. Anno Domini, 1566.'
[5] 'now at this seconde Impression,' p. [27]; 'Whyle this second Impression was in printinge,' p. [87].
[6] Mr J. P. Collier (Bibliographical Catalogue, i. 365) has little doubt that the verses at the back of the title-page of Harman's Caveat were part of "a ballad intituled a description of the nature of a birchen broom" entered at Stationers' Hall to William Griffith, the first printer of the Caveat.
[7] Cp. Kente, p. 37, 43, 48, 61, 63, 66, 68, 77, &c. Moreover, the way in which he, like a Norfolk or Suffolk man, speaks of shires, points to a liver in a non -shire.
[8] In Martin Mark-all, Beadle of Bridewell, 1610, quoted below, at p. [xvii].
[9] Compare his 'ride to Dartforde to speake with a priest there,' p. [57].
[10] "John Harman, Esquyer, one of the gentilmen hushers of the Chambre of our soverayn Lady the Quene, and the excellent Lady Dame Dorothye Gwydott, widow, late of the town of Southampton, married Dec. 21, 1567." (Extract from the register of the parish of Stratford Bow, given in p. 499, vol. iii. of Lysons's Environs of London.)
[11] Philipott, p. 108. Henry Harman bore for his arms—Argent, a chevron between 3 scalps sable.
[12] Of whose daughters, Mary married John, eldest son of Wm. Lovelace, of Hever in Kingsdown, in this county; and Elizabeth married John Lennard, Prothonotary, and afterwards Custos Brevium of the Common Pleas. See Chevening.
[13] See Robinson's Gavelkind, p. 300.
[14] She was of consanguinity to Abp. Chicheley. Stemm. Chich. No. 106. Thomas Harman had three daughters: Anne, who married Wm. Draper, of Erith, and lies buried there; Mary, who married Thomas Harrys; and Bridget, who was the wife of Henry Binneman. Ibid.
[15] In the first edition of Holinshed (1577) this chapter is the 5th in Book III. of Harrison's Description.
[16] Not in ed. 1577.
[17] thorow in ed. 1577.
[18] piteous in ed. 1577.
[19] lament in ed. 1577.
[20] The remainder of this paragraph is not in ed. 1577.
[21] Not in ed. 1577.
[23] The 1577 ed. inserts horrible.
[24] The 1577 ed. reads fifty.
[25] The 1577 ed. reads 22, which is evidently an error.
[26] For these words the 1577 ed. reads gather.
[27] The above list is taken from the titles of the chapters in Harman's Caueat.
[28] Not in the 1577 ed.
[29] These words are substituted for which they disfigure to begg withal in the 1577 ed.
[30] The 1577 ed. inserts bearwards.
[31] Not in 1577 ed.
[32] These three sentences are not in 1577 ed.
[33] Hazlitt's Hand Book, p. 241.
[34] Leader of the Choir. Captain of the Company.
[35] Where at this day the Rogues of the North part, once euerie three yeeres, assemble in the night, because they will not be seene and espied; being a place, to those that know it, verie fit for that purpos,—it being hollow, and made spacious vnder ground; at first, by estimation, halfe a mile in compasse; but it hath such turnings and roundings in it, that a man may easily be lost if hee enter not with a guide.
[36] Of the above passages, Dekker speaks in the following manner:—"There is an Vsurper, that of late hath taken vpon him the name of the Belman; but being not able to maintaine that title, hee doth now call himselfe the Bel-mans brother; his ambition is (rather out of vaine-glory then the true courage of an experienced Souldier) to haue the leading of the Van; but it shall be honor good enough for him (if not too good) to come vp with the Rere. You shall know him by his Habiliments, for (by the furniture he weares) he will be taken for a Beadle of Bridewell. It is thought he is rather a Newter then a friend to the cause: and therefore the Bel-man doth here openly protest that hee comes into the field as no fellow in armes with him."—O per se O (1612 edit.), sign. A. 2.
[37] We quote from four out of the five tracts contained in the volume. The title of the tract we do not quote is 'Hanging not Punishment enough,' etc., London, 1701.
[38] To obviate the possibility of mistake in the lection of this curious document, Mr E. W. Ashbee has, at my request, and by permission of the Governors of Dulwich College (where the paper is preserved), furnished me with an exact fac-simile of it, worked off on somewhat similar paper. By means of this fac-simile my readers may readily assure themselves that in no part of the memorial is Lodge called a "player;" indeed he is not called "Thos. Lodge," and it is only an inference, an unavoidable conclusion, that the Lodge here spoken of is Thomas Lodge, the dramatist. Mr Collier, however, professes to find that he is there called "Thos. Lodge," and that it [the Memorial] contains this remarkable grammatical inversion;
"and haveinge some knowledge and acquaintaunce of him as a player, requested me to be his baile,"
which is evidently intended to mean, as I had some knowledge and acquaintance of Lodge as a player, he requested me to be his baile. But in this place the original paper reads thus,
"and havinge of me some knowledge and acquaintaunce requested me to be his bayle,"
meaning, of course, Lodge, having some knowledge and acquaintance of me requested me to be his bail.
The interpolation of the five words needed to corroborate Mr Collier's explanation of the misquoted passage from Gosson, and the omission of two other words inconsistent with that interpolation, may be thought to exhibit some little ingenuity; it was, however, a feat which could have cost him no great pains. But the labour of recasting the orthography of the memorial must have been considerable; while it is difficult to imagine a rational motive to account for such labour being incurred. To expand the abbreviations and modernize the orthography might have been expedient, as it would have been easy. But, in the name of reason, what is the gain of writing wheare and theare for "where" and "there;" cleere, yeeld, and meerly for "clere," "yealde," and "merely;" verie, anie, laie, waie, paie, yssue, and pryvily, for "very," "any," "lay," "way," "pay," "issue," and "privylie;" sondrie, begon, and doen for "sundrie," "began," and "don;" and thintent, thaction, and thacceptaunce for "the intent," "the action," and "the acceptaunce"?—p. 14 of Dr C. M. Ingleby's 'Was Thomas Lodge an Actor? An Exposition touching the Social Status of the Playwright in the time of Queen Elizabeth.' Printed for the Author by R. Barrett and Sons, 13 Mark Lane, 1868. 2s. 6d.
[39] i. 270: A ballett intituled Tom Tell Truth, A.D. 1565; and i. 307, 'an interlude, the Cruell Detter by Wager,' licenst to Colwell in 1565-6.
THE
Fraternitye of Vacabondes.
As wel of ruflyng Vacabondes, as of beggerly, of women as of men, of Gyrles as of Boyes,
with
their proper names and qualities.
With a description of the crafty company of
Cousoners and Shifters.
¶ Wherunto also is adioyned
the .xxv. Orders of Knaues,
otherwyse called
a Quartern of Knaues.
Confirmed for euer by Cocke Lorell.
( * )
¶ The Vprightman speaketh.
¶ Our Brotherhood[40] of Vacabondes,
If you would know where dwell:
In graues end Barge which syldome standes.
The talke wyll shew ryght well.
¶ Cocke Lorell aunswereth.
¶ Some orders of my Knaues also
In that Barge shall ye fynde:
For no where shall ye walke I trow,
But ye shall see their kynde.
¶ Imprinted at London by Iohn Awdeley, dwellyng in little Britayne streete without Aldersgate.
1575.
[leaf 1b.]
THis brotherhood of Vacabondes,
To shew that there be such in deede
Both Iustices and men of Landes,
Wyll testifye it if it neede.
For at a Sessions as they sat,
By chaunce a Vacabond was got.
¶ Who promysde if they would him spare,
And keepe his name from knowledge then:
He would as straunge a thing declare,
As euer they knew synce they were men.
But if my fellowes do know (sayd he)
That thus I dyd, they would kyll me.
¶ They graunting him this his request,
He dyd declare as here is read,
Both names and states of most and least,
Of this their Vacabondes brotherhood.
Which at the request of a worshipful man
I haue set it forth as well as I can.
FINIS.
[leaf 2]
¶ The
Fraternitye of Vacabondes
both rufling and beggerly,
Men and women, Boyes and Gyrles,
wyth
their proper names and qualities.
Whereunto are adioyned
the company of Cousoners and Shifters.
¶ AN ABRAHAM MAN.
AN Abraham man is he that walketh bare armed, and bare legged, and fayneth hym selfe mad, and caryeth a packe of wool, or a stycke with baken on it, or such lyke toy, and nameth himselfe poore Tom.
¶ A RUFFELER.
A Ruffeler goeth wyth a weapon to seeke seruice, saying he hath bene a Seruitor in the wars, and beggeth for his reliefe. But his chiefest trade is to robbe poore wayfaring men and market women.
¶ A PRYGMAN.
A Prygman goeth with a stycke in hys hand like an idle person. His propertye is to steale cloathes of the hedge, which they call storing of the Rogeman: or els filtch Poultry, carying them to the Alehouse, whych they call the Bowsyng In, & ther syt playing at cardes and dice, tyl that is spent which they haue so fylched.
AWDELEY. THE FRATERNITY OF VACABONDES.
¶ A WHIPIACKE.
A Whypiacke is one, that by coulor of a counterfaite Lisence (which they call a Gybe, and the seales they cal Iarckes) doth vse to beg lyke a Maryner, But hys chiefest trade is to rob Bowthes in a Faire, or to pilfer ware from staules, which they cal heauing of the Bowth.
¶ A FRATER.
A Frater goeth wyth a like Lisence to beg for some Spittlehouse or Hospital. Their pray is commonly vpon [leaf 2b.] poore women as they go and come to the Markets.
¶ A QUIRE BIRD.
A Quire bird is one that came lately out of prison, & goeth to seeke seruice. He is commonly a stealer of Horses, which they terme a Priggar of Paulfreys.
¶ AN VPRIGHT MAN.
An Vpright man is one that goeth wyth the trunchion of a staffe, which staffe they cal a Filtchman. This man is of so much authority, that meeting with any of his profession, he may cal them to accompt, & commaund a share or snap vnto him selfe, of al that they haue gained by their trade in one moneth. And if he doo them wrong, they haue no remedy agaynst hym, no though he beate them, as he vseth commonly to do. He may also commaund any of their women, which they cal Doxies, to serue his turne. He hath ye chiefe place at any market walke, & other assembles, & is not of any to be controled.
¶ A CURTALL.
A Curtall is much like to the Vpright man, but hys authority is not fully so great. He vseth commonly to go with a short cloke, like to grey Friers, & his woman with him in like liuery, which he calleth his Altham if she be hys wyfe, & if she be his harlot, she is called hys Doxy.
¶ A PALLIARD.
A Palliard is he that goeth in a patched cloke, and hys Doxy goeth in like apparell.
¶ AN IRISHE TOYLE.
An Irishe toyle is he that carieth his ware in hys wallet, as laces, pins, poyntes, and such like. He vseth to shew no wares vntill he haue his almes. And if the good man and wyfe be not in the way, he procureth of the chlldren or seruants a fleece of wool, or the worth of xij.d. of some other thing, for a peniworth of his wares.
[leaf 3]
¶ A IACK MAN.
A Iackeman is he that can write and reade, and somtime speake latin. He vseth to make counterfaite licences which they call Gybes, and sets to Seales, in their language called Iarkes.
¶ A SWYGMAN.
A Swygman goeth with a Pedlers pack.
¶ A WASHMAN.
A Washman is called a Palliard, but not of the right making. He vseth to lye in the hye way with lame or sore legs or armes to beg. These men ye right Pilliards wil often times spoile, but they dare not complayn. They be bitten with Spickworts, & somtime with rats bane.
¶ A TINKARD.
A Tinkard leaueth his bag a sweating at the Alehouse, which they terme their Bowsing In, and in the meane season goeth abrode a begging.
¶ A WYLDE ROGE.
A wilde Roge is he that hath no abiding place but by his coulour of going abrode to beg, is commonly to seeke some kinsman of his, and all that be of hys corporation be properly called Roges.
¶ A KITCHEN CO.
A Kitchin Co is called an ydle runagate Boy.
¶ A KITCHEN MORTES.
A Kitchin Mortes is a Gyrle, she is brought at her full age to the Vpryght man to be broken, and so she is called a Doxy, vntil she come to ye honor of an Altham.
¶ DOXIES.
Note especially all which go abroade working laces and shirt stringes, they name them Doxies.
¶ A PATRIARKE CO.
A Patriarke Co doth make mariages, & that is vntill [leaf 3b.] death depart the maried folke, which is after this sort: When they come to a dead Horse or any dead Catell, then they shake hands and so depart euery one of them a seuerall way.